The Davis Cup qualifier that Colombia lost against Great Britain in Cota was marked by the absence of the best tennis player in the country: Daniel Galan.
In the midst of the outstanding victory of Nicolás Mejía over Daniel Evans, and the bad day for the doubles players Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah, the absence of Galán stood out greatly, who decided not to play in the biggest competition of countries to avoid a worsening of the injury of abdomen that drags from the first day of the year.
Although at first the position of the tennis player from Bumangués was not questioned, with the definition of the series his presence at the ATP 250 in Córdoba gained a striking echo, which begins today, just 72 hours after the start of the Davis Cup. .
After some commentators questioned the player’s commitment to the tournament of nations, EL TIEMPO spoke with David Samudiopresident of the Colombian Tennis Federation, and Alejandro Fallacaptain of the national team.
In their voices, the details and the effects of Galán’s decision, who was also contacted by this newspaper, but at the time of publication of this article he had not responded.
(You can read: Dibu Martínez, ‘condemned’: unusual mistake for which he is criticized in England).
‘It’s a gesture with your country’
Questioned about the extent of Galán’s injury, Samudio assured that the affectation in the abdomen was confirmed by the doctor Diego Carvajal, of the Colombian team.
“He had that injury from the tournaments in Australia and here it was confirmed that he was not fully recovered. Each player always makes his own decisions to decide what kind of tournaments he wants to play. If someone doesn’t feel in a position, he makes his decision, but many times it also happens that they don’t want to shoulder the responsibility. Maybe that could be it, but the only one who knows is Daniel”, assured the president of the Federation, who later added “Federations should have tools for players to play for the country. Sometimes it happens that the players decide to play individual tournaments, but in the long run they are preparing for the Davis Cup”.
On the intimacy that surrounded Galán’s loss, Alejandro Falla commented: “The decision was made by Daniel, it was he who told me that he was not 100 percent recovered and that he could not risk suddenly playing the series, injuring himself more and affecting your calendar. I understood it, we discussed it with the team and we decided to move on”.
When asked if Galán’s decision could be a sign of a supposed lack of commitment to the national team, as some have come to say, Samudio was blunt: “He is an important figure and his gesture is not with the Federation, it is a gesture with his country.”
‘With him it was another story’
On the extent of Galán’s absence in the Cup, Falla has no doubt: “Everything would have been different, for the team it was a casualty that hit us very hard. We were sure we could compete the way we did, but with Daniel it was another story”.
Regarding the controversy over his presence in the ATP 250 in Córdoba, Falla maintains that it is Galán’s responsibility to decide which tournaments he plays and which he does not.
“It is his decision because if he felt that he was already wrong to force himself to play here, well, nothing to do. I understand that there in Argentina he is going to see how the injury reacts. It is a matter of his, that he decides not to take risks here and well, I don’t know if he will be one hundred percent in Argentina or it will be a calmer week, thinking about recovering for what comes next, ”he commented.
Regarding Galán’s future in the team, Falla leaves no room for superstitions: “Hopefully Daniel will be in the next qualifying rounds, in September, to fight for the spot in the World Group.”
ANDRES FELIPE BALAGUERA SARMIENTO
SPORTS JOURNALIST EL TIEMPO
@balagueraaa
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